A look at stories across HousingWire’s weekend desk, with more coverage to come on bigger issues: Once again, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded billions of dollars worth of residential mortgage-backed securities last week. The ratings agency updated its RMBS guidelines earlier this year. Analysts took action on $1.08 billion of RMBS issued by Bear Stearns, downgrading the ratings of 65 tranches and confirming the ratings of 3 tranches. The collateral backing these loans consists of first-lien, fixed and adjustable rate “scratch and dent” residential mortgages. Other RMBS scratch and dent ratings actions at Moody’s this week included changes to a $902 million RMBS issued by various financial firms. Moody’s said it downgraded the ratings of 85 tranches, upgraded the rating of 1 tranche and confirmed the ratings of 3 tranches from 29 separate RMBS deals. Finally, Moody’s changed its ratings on $159 million of scratch and dent RMBS from C-BASS. The firm downgraded the ratings of 9 tranches and confirmed the ratings on 5 tranches. Moody’s said, “The actions are a result of deteriorating performance of scratch and dent pools under stressed housing and macroeconomic conditions,” analysts said. Florida’s rocket docket foreclosure courts, which were set up to push foreclosure cases through the court system, may have become a victim of state budget cuts, according to the Huffington Post. The website reports Palm Beach County is already canceling cases, citing a lack of state funding. The infamous rocket docket generated controversy when it was implemented in the Sunshine state to work through a back log of 40,000 foreclosure cases. Consumer advocates, including attorneys with the ACLU, filed suit claiming the rocket docket ended up rushing through foreclosure cases without complying with all related foreclosure laws. Utah residents facing foreclosure may now delay foreclosure proceedings if a loan modification is underway, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The newspaper said U.S. District Judge Dee Benson refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two residents from South Jordan, who asked the court to halt a foreclosure on their property while they negotiate a loan modification. The decision lets the couple continue to work on their case protesting the actual foreclosure. Fitch Ratings placed several classes from 25 franchise loan ABS transactions on negative rating watch. The watch was implemented after Fitch published its latest guidelines for rating franchise loan ABS. Fitch said all franchise loan bonds in these ABS transactions that are rated ‘Csf’ or above will be placed on negative ratings watch and will be surveyed over the course of the next several months against new criteria for rating these securities. Fitch affirmed all outstanding ABS classes rated ‘Dsf.’ Regulators closed three banks last week, bringing the number of failed banks in 2011 to 43. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimates the cost to the deposit insurance fund will be $445.7 million. The Washington Department of Financial Institutions shuttered the doors of Summit Bank in Burlington, Wash. All deposits were transferred to Columbia State Bank in Tacoma, Wash. In Georgia, regulators closed First Georgia Banking Co. in Franklin. All deposits have been transferred to CertusBank, and all First Georgia  locations will reopen as CertusBank branches. CertusBank also acquired the assets of Atlantic Southern Bank in Macon, Ga., which was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. Write to: Kerri Panchuk.